Via Peccati
The appellation of Sinner is a deeply ironic one, for Cainites on the Road of Sin see no power as above themselves. How can one sin against God, when one does not acknowledge His authority? Sinners, those who walk the Via Peccati, claim this rebellious spirit began with Caine’s rejection of forgiveness and acceptance of his curse, but the Road truly began in a decadent Rome in the days before the Third Punic War. It was forged in the fires of Grecian and Zoroastrian wisdom, the ideas of a soul’s inner liberty that cannot be abrogated by any force, internal or external. The keys to unlocking this freedom were found not in denying the soul’s myriad pleasures, but in embracing them. Some believe a visionary Brujah or Ravnos was responsible for first articulating the labyrinthian paths of desire; others claim it was a Baali, the Damned amongst the Damned, who pieced together the whispered temptations of demons but ended up freeing himself. Other Cainites look at the Sinners and see slaves to the Beast and gluttonous hedonists, dulling their superhuman senses with glorious arrays of tastes, sights and smells. They see wicked tempters, corrupting individuals of virtue and drawing victims to lives of excess and ignominy. They see rank neonates so far lost that they refuse to submit to the Blood Oath. Sinners dispute none of these charges save one: they would die before they called themselves slaves. Sinners can take orders, cooperate and aid others; they are selfish, not solipsistic. Indeed, a true Sinner is mastered by only herself. In turn, they master the Beast by indulging it, feeding it, and acknowledging monstrous urges as part of themselves. More than that, they ruthlessly pursue self-mastery, walking a Road of self-definition outside of external strictures or morals. While Scions try to become kings and Faithful try to become holy, Sinners never try to become anything other than themselves. And they are Damned. Whatever else the world thinks of them, Via Peccati’s temptations of pleasure and power cannot be denied. It doesn’t truly matter what the chosen indulgence is. Some inundate the senses with music and art, others practice the ephemeral hunt of seduction, while still others lead unlives of endlessly cruel amusements exploring the limits of pain - for themselves and for others. Yet all Sinners find that cooperating with the Beast is the best method to quiet it. The Road is not innately evil; indeed, cannot an urge for charity be sated, even amongst vampires? Is not altruism a pursuit of pleasure in kindness? However, Via Peccati is fundamentally self-centered, ever selfish, never selfless. Nothing may be permitted to lessen the self. Nickname: Sinners Ethics of Sin: • You are Damned already; there is nothing forbidden to you. • The Beast belongs to you, but you do not belong to it. • Act without hesitation. The laws of neither man nor God bind you. • Your heart holds your hunger and your freedom. Find the courage to embrace both. Initiation: Much of Sin is taught from an elder Sinner, called the Tempter, to a student, called the Novice, in a deeply personal relationship mirroring that of sire to childe. The first steps on the Road often come before the Novice is even a vampire, and involve breaking the strictures and confines of foreign moralities. The Embrace is the next step, dark hunger and primal urges uncoiling from the neonate’s tattered soul. Tempters teach the nascent Novice not to shy from urges, but to follow and satisfy every desire. This learning process is also reciprocal, as a Novice’s reaction to Sin’s teachings can deeply inflame the desires of the Tempter. Though the earliest steps can see deep cruelties applied to the Sinner, these pains are never needless. The relationship between Tempter and Novice oft becomes perversely warm and caring as the adherent walks further along the Road. Even after they’ve been acknowledged as full travelers of the Road, Novices tend to travel with their Tempters, having long since come to desire their company. Organization: With a heavy emphasis on personal freedom and individual desire, a regimented Road would be antithetical to the needs of Sinners. Loosely organized at best, what little structure the Road does possess is built around facilitating the teacher-student relationship that best spreads the teachings of Sin. The ashen priests of Via Peccati are known as praeceptors, gathering students and cults around them and unleashing souls with their truths. Great Sinners are granted respect, but never more than they’ve earned. Rituals and Observances: Treasuring individuality and personal freedom, the Road observes few formal observances and rituals aside from the mentor-student relationship. The festival of Saturnalia is the exception; the December liberties, where free speech is common and accepted, are too intoxicating to ignore. The association with the ancient Roman sun god also tickles Sinners who appreciate irony. No pleasures are denied groups of Sinners who meet during the day, and the most advanced Sinner takes on the title of Lord of Misrule, directing his lessers in exquisite temptation. Aura: Temptation. The Sinners are free and their Road full of promise, and they are adept at recognizing the desires of others. Their aura modifier affects rolls to cajole and entice. Virtues: Conviction and Instinct HIERARCHY OF SINS AGAINST YOURSELF Score Minimum Wrongdoing Rationale 10 Acknowledging any authority over your own You are beyond submission. 9 Failing to indulge a new desire No pleasure should be denied you. 8 Failing to ride the wave of frenzy The Beast tires with exercise, strengthens with denial. 7 Forfeiting long-term pleasures for short-term ones Do not exchange floods of desire for a draught. 6 Putting the needs of others ahead of your own pleasure Your need outweighs everything else. 5 Swearing an oath Be bound by none, least of all yourself. 4 Refusing to act against those who attempt to bind you The truest chains are self-imposed, but false ones can bind just as well. 3 Refusing to feed or kill when necessary No life is worth more than your own. 2 Encouraging the tenets or virtues of another Road All other Roads lead to gilded cages and liberated Beasts. 1 Refusing to act in your own best interests Only fools sacrifice themselves. Path of Pleasure The Path of Pleasure hearkens back to the original Via Desideratio, the Road as codified in Rome by Tanitbaal-Sahar. The Cainite visionary’s work, On Hunger and Its Satisfaction, laid out the tenets of the Road later deemed Sinful. The discovery of a complete early draft in 10th-century Tyre led to the development of this Path, a refocusing of the Road entire to pure hedonism. Sinners walking the Path of Pleasure do not seek to define themselves by desires so much as inundate the Beast in sensation that they may remain untroubled. The Path of Pleasure emphasizes physical and mental pleasures over the self-mastery (and ultimately, emotional pleasure) of the mainline Road. While main road Sinners are capable of delaying their lusts, Voluptuaries believe a Beast delayed is a Beast denied. They toil only to array themselves in an endless stream of engorgement, so that their Beast may be eternally glutted on blood and satisfaction. Other Cainites and even other Sinners look down on the Voluptuaries, seeing them as nothing more than fools frittering away eternity. Additional Ethics of Pleasure: • Tame the Beast with the pleasure it desires, for it does not think, but feel. • Shame and inhibition are blasphemies against the orgasmic sacrament. • Avoid things which bring you no pleasure, for the Beast grows restless without being fed. Virtues: Conviction and Instinct HIERARCHY OF SINS AGAINST PLEASURE Score Minimum Wrongdoing Rationale 10 Being shamed by your actions Shame is disapproval in the eyes of others; your actions can only please yourself. 9 Failing to indulge your desires Satiation keeps the Beast at bay. 8 Failing to ride the wave of frenzy The red rages are but another pleasure to experience. 7 Any display of modesty Modesty is morality imposed from without. Never submit to it. 6 Putting the needs of others ahead of your own interests Your desires come before their need. 5 Swearing an oath A wild heart must never be chained. 4 Associating with those who bring you no pleasure The Beast rages when denied; never give license to its fury. 3 Refusing to feed or kill when necessary These are your greatest and purest joys. 2 Encouraging virtue or agents of virtue Why exert effort to aid those who would chain you? 1 Refusing to act in your own best interests Your desires are all that truly matters. Path of the Devil In al-Andalus, Islam’s particular insistence of submission to Allah sat poorly with those who had followed the Road of Sin. Indeed, the idea of submission to any deity sat poorly with them, but the emphasis of Path of the Devil is a newly articulated one, with a doubly ironic name atop the original Road. Codified by a long dialogue between English Brujah and Gangrel residing in the taifas, the Path of the Devil is growing increasingly popular amongst neonates and those of higher Generations. The Adversaries hold that the very concept of submission and enslavement is anathema to them, and that none possess the right to condemn another. To compel obedience, to brandish the lie of torment, is to deprive another of the little pleasures they may eke out while their hearts still beat. The Adversaries stalk the slave markets of Caffa and the cathedrals of Acre alike, seeking to annihilate institutions which enslave others body and soul. They value introspection and long-term thinking; the ultimate pleasure of freedom is hollow unless it’s enjoyed by all. Additional Ethics of Rebellion: • You are the master of yourself; authority comes from consent of the ruled, not from tyranny. • Free will is your ultimate weapon and your greatest treasure; never let it be taken from you. • Chains challenge the rights of the free by their mere existence; your existence is the answer to this challenge. Virtues: Conviction and Self-Control HIERARCHY OF SINS AGAINST REBELLION Score Minimum Wrongdoing Rationale 10 Acknowledging the laws of God or Man Never give credence to those who would enslave others. 9 Failing to indulge a new desire Passion is the fire of the soul. 8 Failing to ride the wave of frenzy The Beast may only be understood after struggle. 7 Refusing to aid a lost soul in need The weak cannot understand their nature, and must be taught by the strong. 6 Refusing a pleasure that injures none Seeking to pleasure yourself is the fondest pursuit. 5 Swearing an oath Forced servitude cannot be helped, and is to be pitied; self-enforced servitude is hideous, and is to be resisted. 4 Refusing to act against those who choose to bind you Punish those who attempt to control you. 3 Refusing to feed or kill when necessary Never feel shame for doing what must be done. 2 Pursuing material gain at the expense of higher concerns Enrich your soul before you fill your coffers. 1 Encouraging false virtue or agents of false virtue Constrictions of laws enslave the mind and strangle the soul. Path of Screams The Path of Screams is an ancient one; so ancient, in fact, that its precursor long predates the Road of Sin. The hereditary morality of the Baali bloodline arose from subservience to their dark masters — some of the Pit, others bound to the earth, and still others in the depths of the Abyss. The temptations and subservience espoused by Via Hyron, the Road of the Hive, held little influence over Tanitbaal-Sahur when the tenets of the Road were whipped and smashed into his soul in Carthage. Failing to follow the Road and desperate to find a way to quell his raging Beast, the Baali ancillae ventured to Rome, where he read the works of the greatest Stoics and shared company and philosophy with the Persians who inhabited the slums of the city. When he eventually walked the road the temptations promised, he found that it led back into himself, and wrote the text that would become the foundation for the Road of Sin. The Baali who came to reeducate him found themselves seduced by their broodmate’s newfound radiant attitude of calm and temptation. Rather than free themselves, they took the idea of pleasure in subservience and fused their philosophies into a crooked and winding Path that twists against the Road that spawned it. In these nights, more Baali and infernalists are Screamers than not, replacing the repetitive and ultimately redundant codes that came before. In order to satisfy their darkest desires, the Screamers have turned against the very core of the Road: that of self-determination. They have chosen to serve in Hell rather than reign over only themselves. Additional Ethics of Damnation • You are Damned; the greatest pleasure is found in service of Hell. • Virtue is a great and grand lie, but the truth pleases both you and your masters. • Your Beast is as a great vibration, carried up from Hell; listen to its will and desires and find the voice of those you follow. Virtues: Conviction and Instinct HIERARCHY OF SINS AGAINST DAMNATION Score Minimum Wrongdoing Rationale 10 Acknowledging any laws but that of Hell Divinity and mundanity have no meaning for the Damned. 9 Failing to indulge your desires Pleasure strengthens you, which strengthens your masters. 8 Failing to ride the wave of frenzy The Beast is the clarion call of your soul. 7 Refusing to feed or kill when necessary Beautiful is the blood that darkens the soil. 6 Avoiding injury to others for any reason Blood spilled is your gift to the world, your greatest pleasure. 5 Any display of mercy or pity Mercy is for the weak, and Damnation makes you strong. 4 Failing to act on behalf of Hell You serve Hell, even when it does not serve you. 3 Any altruistic behavior You owe others nothing. 2 Acting against the minions of Hell We are all as drones in the hive of the Pit. 1 Encouraging virtue or agents of virtue Nothing pure may withstand you, even the purity of Sin. Category:Morality